Schwarzesbrett » We came in with high expect

The New York Rangers have a mix of proven veterans and interesting young players and it will be interesting to see how they are deployed under a new coach, Alain Vigneault, who has established his tendency to start his best scorers more frequently in the offensive zone. Top Picks: There are no sure things when it comes to goaltending, with fluctuations from year to year in many cases, but Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist is pretty close to being a safe selection. Over the last four seasons, Lundqvist has a .924 save percentage and the only goaltender to play at least 25 games and record a save percentage over .920 in all four years. RW Rick Nash can take some heat for his playoff performance, when he scored one goal and five points in 12 games, but his 0.95 points per game during the regular season was his second-best in the last seven years and was a career-best plus-16 in 44 games. Since 2003-2004, Nash has scored 293 goals, ranking fifth, and hes still just 29-years-old, so he fits as a top-five right winger, likely going in the first couple rounds of most drafts. Coming off a breakout season, in which he scored 44 points in 48 games, C Derek Stepan is still looking for a new contract, but presuming that he gets into the Rangers lineup, the 23-year-old has to be considered a valuable fantasy commodity. In the last three seasons, Stepan is one of 15 forwards to have 140 points and a plus-40 rating and hes just hitting his prime. Captain Ryan Callahan has scored 109 goals over the last five seasons, ranking 46th, and is perennially among the league leaders in hits, but hes also recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and is not expected to be ready for the start of the season. In three seasons (well, 169 games) D Ryan McDonagh is one of five defencemen to have at least 50 points and a plus-50 rating. Even if hes not a huge scorer, as a No. 3 fantasy defencemen, hes a fine option. With a little more offence to his game, D Michael Del Zotto has 62 points over the last two seasons, ranking 21st among defencemen. Again, as a No. 3 defenceman, he offers good value. Value Plays: Much-maligned for his playoff performance, when he was a healthy scratch with the Rangers season on the line, C Brad Richards is looking for a fresh start with a new coach and while the 33-year-old isnt likely to return to point-per-game scoring, he can do better than the career-low 0.74 points per game he had last season. As a high-end No. 3 centre, Richards could be a savvy pick. LW Carl Hagelin has been an effective complementary scorer in his first two NHL seasons, scoring 62 points in 112 games but, like Callahan, hes recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and isnt expected to be ready for the start of the season. However, once hes healthy, Hagelin is a good bet to have a spot in the top six. The Rangers have a couple more defencemen that can provide value, in large part because they play so much. Dan Girardi has topped out at 31 points in a season, yet hes a valuable blueliner in leagues that count hits and blocked shots since hes recorded 686 hits and 726 blocks over the last four seasons. Marc Staals career-high is 29 points and hes coming off a serious eye injury, but if hes playing 24 minutes a night, as he was before getting hurt, he could be productive enough to have fantasy value. Sleepers/Breakthrough: After arriving in New York last season, as part of the return for Marian Gaborik, Derick Brassard scored 23 points in 25 (regular season plus playoff) games, a decided improvement on several seasons of disappointing production in Columbus. If he gets utilized with offensive linemates -- not easy with Stepan and Richards on the depth chart -- Brassard could push for a career-best season. LW Mats Zuccarello returned to the Rangers following a season in the KHL, tallying 15 points in 27 (regular season plus playoff) games. With Hagelin out to start the year, that could be the opening that Zuccarello needs to secure a spot on a scoring line right from the start. Rookies: LW Chris Kreider is full of potential, even if his 2012-2013 season was a bit of a bust with 23 points in 48 AHL games and three points in 23 games with the Rangers. Kreider will have a new opportunity to earn more playing time and if he uses his size and speed, he could be a productive complementary winger. The Rangers also have Swedish forwards Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fasth and Danny Kristo, acquired from Montreal, as prospects that could earn their way into a regular spot in the lineup, but they wont have value until they arrive. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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LA (SportsNetwork.PITTSBURGH -- Coach Dan Bylsma knows that the disappointing finish of the U.S. Olympic mens hockey team in Sochi will linger. But now he has shifted his focus back to the Pittsburgh Penguins and looks to get his first-place team to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. "I dont think you get rid of the disappointment," Bylsma said Tuesday. "But you have to put it behind you. The task at hand is coming back here and playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and I think thats the best way to put it behind you." The U.S. nearly knocked off Team Canada in Vancouver in 2010, falling just short of a gold medal and instead settled for silver. The Americans wanted to win an elusive Olympic hockey gold for the first time since the "Miracle on Ice," in 1980, and U.S. executives felt Bylsmas team had the right blend of skill, speed, and grit to get the job done. The U.S. offence got off to a strong start through the first four games of the tournament, outscoring the opposition 20-6. Included was the exhilarating, 3-2, eight-round shootout victory against the host Russians, one of the most memorable games of the tournament. "The Russian game was as unique of a game as Ive ever coached," Bylsma said. "The stage in terms of the tournament doesnt mean a whole lot because everyones going to play a fourth game, but trying to compare it to a Stanley Cup or a Game 7 was completely different. It had a different feel." The U.S. cruised past the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal showdown with Canada. "Its a game we all wanted," Bylsma said. "Maybe the biggest disappointment is that it wasnt the gold medal game." Regardless, the U.S. had to get through Canada to win gold, and for the second straight time in Olympic competition, the Canadians topped the U.S. Canada, which went on to win its second straight gold medal, blanked the Americans in a suffocating 1-0 effort that wasnt as close as the final score. Bylsma was criticized after the loss, some drawing comparisons to the Boston Bruins foour-game sweep of a punchless Penguins team, which had trouble scoring during the 2013 Eastern Conference finals.dddddddddddd "You can draw the comparisons, but I dont know if theyre valid or applicable," Bylsma said. "The one thing we would like to go back to in that game was playing faster and playing quicker, allowing us to be on the forecheck in a better manner." Penguins GM Ray Shero, also the associate general manager for Team USA, credited Team Canada. "That might be the greatest Olympic hockey team ever," Shero said. "You can look at how we wanted to play, but sometimes the opponent doesnt let you get to your game." The Canadians, who never trailed in the tournament, flexed their defensive muscle, allowing just three goals in six games to become the first team in 30 years to go unbeaten through an Olympic tournament. "Canada was very good," Shero said. "We came in with high expectations and theres nothing wrong with setting a high goal." Both wanted to see a different outcome after a humiliating 5-0 defeat the following day against Finland in the bronze medal game. "The bronze medal game was a tough one for us to rebound and get to," Bylsma said. "Thats the biggest disappointment of the tournament." But now the attention shifts back to Bylsmas Penguins where Olympians Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz are back with gold medals from Team Canada, while Jussi Jokinen and Olli Maatta earned bronze with Finland. Bylsma returned empty-handed along with U.S. Olympians Brooks Orpik and Paul Martin, who broke his hand in the quarterfinal round and is out four to six weeks. Russian star Evgeni Malkin is also without a medal, motivation that Bylsma hopes will further fuel a deep playoff run for the Metropolitan Division-leading Penguins. The Penguins return to action when they host Montreal on Thursday. "We have 24 games to get back and focus on this team being the best it can be, getting to the Stanley Cup and winning it," Bylsma said. ' ' '